Updated Aug 30, 2024
8/30/24
Natural gas strengthened after the extended holiday weekend as cold, rainy winter blasts continued to move across the country. With heightened geopolitical tensions driving a broader spike across commodities, the March Nymex gas futures contract settled Tuesday at $4.498/MMBtu, up 6.7 cents from Friday’s close. April futures climbed 8.4 cents to $4.461.
After an earlier rebound, natural gas futures ultimately slipped further Friday as traders focused on some easing in the early-March cold. With the potential impacts on already below-normal storage inventories unclear, the March Nymex contract settled at $4.431/MMBtu, off 5.5 cents on the day. April lost 5.3 cents to hit $4.377.
North American natural gas futures were once again unsteady this week, but the Mexico market has had a relatively calm February after turbulent market action heading into the month.
Rising exports and rebounding industrial activity are likely to drive U.S. natural gas demand through 2022, according to analysts who presented during a webinar hosted Tuesday by Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI) and Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS).
Natural gas futures were choppy Tuesday. Prices swung sharply higher early on the increasing potential for cold weather to linger into early March, but then retreated significantly as part of a broader commodities sell-off amid easing political tensions. The last half hour of trading brought another surge following the latest weather data, with the March Nymex gas futures rallying 11.1 cents to a $4.306/MMBtu settlement. April ticked up 8.1 cents to $4.241.
Roses are red and so were natural gas futures on Friday as selling action continued along the Nymex curve. A steadily warming February forecast proved too much for bulls to overcome, with the rising temperatures likely preventing a much deeper drawdown of storage inventories heading toward the end of the traditional withdrawal season. The March Nymex contract closed out the week at $3.941/MMBtu, off 1.8 cents on the day. April slipped only eight-tenths of a cent to $3.935.
Natural gas prices advanced Monday following a fierce winter storm in the East and ahead of another deep freeze that ignited production curtailment fears. The anticipated blasts of cold also amplified expectations for lofty storage withdrawals and sent the March Nymex gas futures contract up 23.5 cents day/day to settle at $4.874. April rose 20.2 cents to $4.675.
A strong start to the rainy season in Brazil has boosted hydropower reservoirs and cut the nation’s need for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, freeing up more of the super-chilled fuel for buyers in need across the world.
Although headlines on current tightness in the global natural gas market have mostly focused on Europe, Latin America has played a role in the crisis as well, according to Columbia University’s Luisa Palacios.
Natural gas futures climbed back into positive territory on Friday amid updated forecasts for freezing conditions to extend into next month and expectations for stout withdrawals from storage. The February Nymex gas futures contract settled at $3.999, up 19.7 cents day/day. March rose 13.3 cents to $3.782.